LAKEPORT, Calif. – A Southern California man who moved to Lakeport and opened a sushi restaurant is facing the possibility of prison time for failing to register as a sex offender due to a 2000 child molestation conviction.
Christopher David Beavers, 33, is in custody in the Lake County Jail. He's being held on $130,000 bail in the local case against him, as well as $250,000 for an out-of-county felony warrant, according to jail records.
In October 2000 Beavers was convicted in Riverside of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under age 14, which required that he register as a sex offender, according to Deputy District Attorney Ed Borg.
Borg said Beavers is charged with two felonies, including failing to register with the Lakeport Police Department within five days of moving to the city.
That first felony charge covers the period from Nov. 1, 2013, through this past April 24, when Beavers was first arrested in the local registration case, Borg said.
Since moving to Lakeport, Beavers also failed to fulfill the annual requirements that include re-registering with authorities within five days of his birthday, which is in January. That registration failure resulted in the second felony count against Beavers, Borg said.
The third charge against Beavers, a misdemeanor, is for giving a false name to a peace officer when contacted by sheriff's detective in April. While Beavers failed to register in Lakeport, the case is being investigated by the sheriff's office, according to Borg.
Borg said a previous strike conviction for the 2000 lewd and lascivious case also is alleged in the case.
Investigators believe that Beavers has not registered since 2009. That year, he was featured in an article about the launch of a San Bernardino County “Offender Watch” Web site to track sex offenders. The article gave Beavers as an example of an unregistered and convicted sex offender.
Law enforcement also believes that Beavers – after he stopped registering – lived in other parts of the state before settling in Lakeport, Borg said.
Borg called Beavers' case “fairly egregious” for factors including the length of time he's failed to register and – while breaking those registration requirements – for putting himself into a very public position by opening a new local business.
After arriving in Lake County, Beavers opened “The Sushi Guy” restaurant on S. Main Street in Lakeport. The eatery received good feedback on its Facebook page.
However, since Beavers was last taken into custody on June 3, the restaurant has been closed, Borg said.
A preliminary hearing in Beavers' case was to have taken place on Monday morning, but he waived his right to the hearing, Borg said.
Borg said that means that the District Attorney's Office will prepare to file the case against Beavers for trial.
As for what's next, “We did make an offer,” Borg said.
The prosecution is offering Beavers the middle term of two years on one of the two felony charges, as well as the admission of the previous strike, which Borg said would double the prison time exposure to a total of four years, with a 20-percent time credit.
Borg said Beavers has until his scheduled June 24 arraignment in Lake County Superior Court to accept the agreement.
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